Riyadh, SPA:
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh on Tuesday afternoon.

During the meeting, the King briefed the Cabinet on the contents of a message he has received from President Beji Caid Essebsi of the Tunisian Republic.

The Cabinet commended the speech delivered by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques at the inauguration of the summit of the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States at its 39th session in Riyadh. The King expressed his confidence in the keenness of all to preserve the GCC entity and enhance its role in the present and future. The King stressed the importance of exploiting capabilities to serve GCC peoples and maintain the security and stability of their countries and the region against challenges and threats of extremist and terrorist forces continuing to threaten the Gulf and Arab common security.

At the summit, the King also highlighted Iranian regime's aggressive policies in sponsoring these forces and its interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, requiring maintaining gains and working together with partners to preserve security and stability in the region and the world.

The Minister of Media Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session that the Cabinet welcomed the final statement of the summit of leaders of the GCC Arab States at its 39th session "Riyadh Declaration". The Council's leaders confirmed their keenness on strength, cohesion and consolidation of the GCC's entity, unity of ranks among its members, promotion of the joint GCC action and their affirmation of positions and decisions of the GCC's countries towards regional and international issues.

The Minister of Media said that the Cabinet paid tribute to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for patronizing the opening ceremony of the Historical Al-Turaif District Development Project, in the presence of leaders and heads of delegations of the Gulf Cooperation Council states, to transform Al-Turaif District into an international heritage center, given its historical, cultural, urban and environmental value, and to set it in a modern profile, and place it among the World Heritage sites.

The Cabinet also commended the supervision and follow-up by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense, who is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al-Diriyah Gate Development Authority, for the project until its completion, upon the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

The Cabinet praised HRH the Crown Prince for laying the foundation stone of the first phase of King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), located in the Eastern Region.

SPARK is designed to be a global center for energy, industry, and technology, as well as to strengthen the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's position as a regional and global energy hub by developing a globally competitive Saudi industries and services sector and supporting Saudi strategic economic development initiatives, that reflect the objectives of the Saudi 2030 roadmap.

Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad said that the Cabinet issued the following decisions:

The Cabinet approved a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the research health sector between King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Genetic Diseases Institute of the Republic of France.

The Cabinet approved a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in the field of higher education and scientific research between the Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Republic of Tunisia.

The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding on academic cooperation between King Saud University of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Shanghai University of International Studies of the People's Republic of China.

The Cabinet authorized the Secretary-General of King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Daratul Malik Abdulaziz), or his deputy, to sign a memorandum of cooperation between the Darah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Printing House for Publications and Documents of the Republic of Iraq.

The Cabinet authorized the President of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), or his deputy, to discuss with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) drafting a memorandum of understanding between NACC and the UNDP to develop relevant mechanisms to cope with corruption risks in government agencies and forward the outcomes for further formal procedures.

The Cabinet appointed Dr. Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Hamid, Rector of Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University; Dr. Abdullah bin Mofrih Al-Rooqi, Rector of the University of Tabuk; and Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Ohali, Rector of King Faisal University, (representatives of university rectors); Dr. Abdullah bin Yahia Al-Mohaya; and Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Bahdel, (representatives of e-learning experts); and Khalid bin Sulaiman Al-Muhaisen (representative of the private sector) as members of the Board of Directors of the National Center for e-Learning, for a three-year term of office.

Upon a recommendation of the Council for Economic Affairs and Development, the Cabinet approved the commercial maritime system.

Upon recommendations of the Council of Economic Affairs and Development, the Cabinet amended Article (First) of its former decision dated 27/2/1432 H. assigning the Ministry of Labor and Social Development to supervise and follow up the activities of national children hospitality centers; research, social and civil studies centers; and the elderly civil centers, including providing them with necessary licenses.

The Cabinet approved promotions to the 15th and 14th ranks, as follows:
1 - Muneera bint Hamdan bin Thawab Al-Osaimi was promoted to the position of administrative consultant at the Ministry of Health (15the rank).
2- Ali bin Mosleh bin Ali Al-Qahtani was promoted to the post of Director General of the General Directorate of Consultants at the Governorate of Tabuk Region (14th rank).
3. Ibrahim bin Abdullah bin Othman Al-Assaf was promoted to the post of General Manager of Customs Control Department at the General Directorate of Customs (14the rank).
4 - Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Sulaiman Al-Aqeel was promoted to the post of General Director of Customs at the General Customs Authority (14the rank).
5 - Abdulaziz bin Ali bin Mohammed Al-Sunaidi was promoted to the position of labor counselor at the Ministry of Labor and Social Development (14the rank).
6 - Abdul Qadir bin Eid bin Hazza Al-Ghamdi was promoted to the position of labor counselor at the Ministry of Labor and Social Development (14th rank).

The Cabinet was briefed on a number of general issues on its agenda, including annual reports of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the General Presidency of the Holy Mosque and the Prophet Mosque, and the Saudi Development Fund for previous fiscal years. The Cabinet issued relevant instructions.